Lady in the Water

Last night I watched Lady in the Water. I absolutely loved it! The story is crisp, concise and it also reminded me of his work on Signs. Many people didn’t watch Signs in 2002 simply because they couldn’t understand the story. It was build as a science fiction movie with aliens.

Yes, there were aliens in the movie but they were just part of the film. The “signs” in the movie is something else. Only by understanding the dynamics behind the character that Mel Gibson was portraying would one be able to grasp the full message of the film. Ever wonder why Mel’s character decided to go back to being a pastor again at the end of the film? It’s more than just a coincidence. Similarly, this film Lady in the Water was amazing as it has more diversity in the actors and actresses. We have Indians, Mexicans and Asians on top of having the usual Caucasians. I just adored the fact that this director always manages to put himself in his own films. Ironically, I haven’t watched The Sixth Sense yet. Hmm, perhaps I better do so in the coming weeks.

 I just don’t like horror films. Yes, I do watch a few but I don’t sleep well at night. Anyway, back to the film, the movie is like one long bedtime story [which is actually what they were billing it for in their promotional posters and early trailers]. It reminded me of the days when my mother told me bedtime stories of the bible when I was a kid before an afternoon nap and before we went to sleep at night. These are among the memories that I cherish with my mother. And that’s why I completely agree with one of the characters of the movie, when he said “I just want to believe and be a kid again.” Kids find it easier to trust and believe in anything. Teenagers on the other hand, try to question everything! [which in a way is a good thing but gets in the way of trust as well]. I guess that’s why so many stories of the Bible have stuck on me, painted in my mind’s eye as if it was some form of mural that would stand the test of time of heat, wind and rain.

 Yet I am grateful of such memories. Because as the movie presented, painful memories that are not shared to others causes great anxiety and dysfunction. That only through sharing our pain would there be true healing for our souls and true community. Sounds all cliche, but all I want to say here is just watch the movie and be amazed! Search for that inner child of yours that longs to believe in the impossible, and maybe then you won’t be so cynical about life and other mysteries.  

Sleepless in Manila

For some reason, I just can’t go to sleep though I feel tired and it’s one in the morning. So I decided to just blog this instead though I need to wake up early for another day of teaching. I am beginning to understand the different aspects of how to manage a blog. In fact, I am so proud that I created a blog here at wordpress because one can create as many blogs with just one username and password! Not only that, it is even better than other blogs out there as there seems to be no limit as the the space allocation. I have a friend who maintains a blog at friendster and aside from the fact the website is almost ALWAYS slow in downloading and uploading; he mentioned that his articles gets deleted and could only handle about 70 articles at most.

That’s pathetic if you ask me, but then again, let’s thank God for Google as they revolutionized the industry as well. If not for gmail, Yahoo wouldn’t have thought of expanding the memory allocated for emails and stuff.
Anyway, I hope that I would become better at blogging in the months to come. The main reason I decided to maintain this one is because I need to learn how to maintain a website in relation to one of my jobs, aside from the fact that my students these days are internet savvy. It then makes sense for me to use the internet as a means of communicating with them as well. But if you ask me, nothing beats face to face communication. Being able to touch a person, pat him/her at the back is a touch of heaven. Even scientific findings back this up, as skin to skin contact of human beings increases the oxygen flow to the brain and also increases the immune system of the body. Therefore, we were really meant to connect with each other. And the written language such as the one I am working on right now is just a bridge that is suppose to cut deeper to the soul and connect with other people. In this case, connect with my students.

I honestly don’t know if I am able to do that, I just give my best in what I am doing.

Fanatical Teacher

Cybermania

I confess, this is the fourth blog that I have created. But of all the blogs, I hope that this one is something that I could regularly update. As my title suggests, this is about words, language, of teaching writing and grammar skills of the English language. I have always been fascinated with languages, and I continue to study new languages on my own. Yet the most challenging aspect is to bridge that gap of understanding and be able to communicate what little message we have to another person.

Well, that’s a start. Until then. I hope more people would get to read this blog.